Image source, PA Media

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will reaffirm his party's commitment to a "nuclear deterrent triple lock" as well as his ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the size of the economy.

He is expected to meet with forces veterans and a group of his party's candidates when he campaigns in the North West of England later today.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made clear he wants to meet the 2.5% target by 2030 although Labour has so far declined to outline its timeline, only noting they would do so when economic conditions allow.

Labour says its nuclear deterrent triple lock involves: a commitment to construct the four new nuclear submarines in Barrow-in-Furness; maintaining Britain's continuous at-sea deterrent; and the delivery of all future upgrades needed for the submarines to patrol the waters.

The Vanguard-class submarines are due to be replaced by the bigger Dreadnought-class submarines in the 2030s. Between £31bn and £41bn has been set aside for the wider programme of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.

Starmer has been attempting to shift perceptions of Labour's defence stance following the party's time under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, a long-standing critic of Nato and Trident.

Peter Barnes
BBC political analyst

Image source, Reuters

We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May.

On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.

The other parties haven't seen any movement either.

There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters, though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.

Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.

As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.

However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings.

• You can find out more here

Image source, Reuters

A company that bankrolled Vaughan Gething's successful bid to become Wales' first minister was linked to a criminal investigation at the time, the BBC can reveal.

Gething's leadership campaign accepted £200,000 from a firm controlled by millionaire businessman David Neal.

A criminal investigation into suspected environmental offences by one of Neal's firms, Resources Management Limited, is being carried out by Natural Resources Wales, external.

A spokesman for Welsh Labour says the issues had "previously been addressed by Vaughan Gething and are a matter of public record".

You can read more about the BBC investigation here.

The BBC has announced its line-up of televised general election debates, which will start this week. They are:

• This Friday 7 June at 19:30 BST, Mishal Husain will moderate a debate between leading figures from the seven biggest political parties in Great Britain
• On Thursday 20 June at 20:00 BST, Fiona Bruce will present a Question Time Leaders' Special involving leaders of the four biggest political parties in Great Britain
• Then, on Wednesday 26 June from 21:00 BST, Sophie Raworth will host a head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. This is set to be the last TV debate of the election campaign

Read more here.

A number of papers lead on the Conservative party's pledge to change the Equality Act.

The Times, external calls the plan a "Tory vow to end abuse of gender laws by predators".

The minister for women and equalities, Kemi Badenoch, has written a comment piece for the paper. In it, she says that public authorities and regulatory bodies are "confused about what the law says and what to do - often for fear of being accused of transphobia".

Tributes to the rugby league legend Rob Burrow feature across many of the papers. "He inspired the nation" says the Daily Express, external, alongside a picture of him smiling in his wheelchair after being made an MBE.

The Telegraph, external says he "transcended" his sport in his "battle to raise awareness" of Motor Neurone Disease.

For the Times,, external that campaigning made him a "national figure of extraordinary significance". The Daily Star's , external front page shows him before his diagnosis, charging on the pitch with a rugby ball under his arm. The headline calls him "the bravest man in Britain."

You can see all the front pages and read our paper review here.

Georgia Roberts
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

SNP leader John Swinney will be in Stirling campaigning with the candidate there doing some door-knocking.

But the real event that will dominate the campaign here in Scotland today won’t come until later.

That’s because Scottish leaders take their arguments to the TV studio for the first time for their first debate, on STV.

Speaking ahead of that, John Swinney says he’s looking forward to the debate, where he plans to set out “a genuine alternative to the broken Westminster status quo".

Image source, PA Media

The Liberal Democrats are calling for new protections for rivers and coastlines to end "environmental vandalism".

The party says an expansion of marine protected areas and a new Blue Flag status for rivers will be included in its manifesto ahead of the general election.

"Our precious rivers and coastlines have been destroyed after years of a Conservative Government letting water firms get away with environmental vandalism," party leader Ed Davey said.

"Families should be free to swim safely in the knowledge that our waters are not polluted with sewage," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer will likely be hoping to be able to avoid questions on Diane Abbott today.

Yesterday, she announced that she intends to stand for the party in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and "run and win as Labour's candidate".

A bitter row over whether the party would select her as its candidate in the seat has dominated the first week of campaigning.

The drama has overshadowed the early stages of Labour campaign, despite Starmer on Saturday refusing to answer questions, saying: "I dealt with that issue yesterday. Today is about taking our argument to the country."

On Friday he said Abbott would be free to stand for the party, after reports that its ruling body would bar her from running.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have promised to amend the Equality Act to ensure the protected characteristic of sex is defined as "biological sex".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the "safety of women and girls" meant the "current confusion around definitions of sex and gender" cannot be allowed to continue.

The Tories say their election pledge will make it simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to stop biological males from taking part.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party (SNP) have not yet commented on the proposals.

• Read more here

Image source, PA Media

We are expecting Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to meet with veterans today as he turns his campaign pitch towards defence, declaring Labour the "party of national security".

Starmer is set to reaffirm his commitment to "securing the UK's future nuclear deterrent with a nuclear deterrent triple lock", according to a Labour press release.

It says the triple lock would see four new nuclear submarines built in Barrow-in-Furness, as well as the continuation of Britain's 24/7, 365 at-sea deterrent patrols and the delivery of all future upgrades needed to keep up those submarine patrols.

The party will commit to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, it says.

Welcome to another week of campaigning in the run-up to the general election on 4 July.

Here’s a quick catch-up of everything you need to know this morning:

• The Conservatives are promising to amend the Equality Act to ensure the protected characteristic of sex is defined as "biological sex"
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says his party is the "party of national security" as he reaffirms his commitment to a "triple nuclear deterrence lock"
• The Liberal Democrats have announced that an expansion of marine protected areas and a new Blue Flag status for rivers will be included in their General Election manifesto
• Diane Abbott says that she will stand in her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington in the general election, after a bitter row over whether Labour would select her as its candidate
• SNP leader John Swinney formally launched his party's general election campaign yesterday, pitching the SNP as the party that will put Scotland's interests first
• The BBC has announced its line-up of TV election debates, including a head-to-head between Sunak and Starmer at the end of this month

Stay with us throughout the day as we bring you all the latest from the campaign trail.

Another day on the campaign trail comes to an end, meaning we're another day closer to 4 July - when voters will have their say.

We're going to pause our coverage there for today, but in case you missed any of the main stories:

• Read about the latest development in the Diane Abbott story here
• Head here to catch up on this afternoon's SNP campaign launch
• And head to the Election 2024 section of our website to catch up on everything else

We'll be back here tomorrow, bright and early, to bring you the latest as candidates continue to make their pitches to voters across the country. It'll also be just one day to go until PM Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer go head-to-head in their first televised debate - airing on ITV at 21:00 BST on Tuesday.

For now, though, thanks for joining us.

What is Labour promising on net migration?published at 19:47 British Summer Time 2 June

19:47 BST 2 June

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

As we reported earlier, Labour promised today to cut net migration if elected - here's a bit more on that.

Net migration is at very high levels by historic standards. It reached a record high in 2022, before falling slightly to 685,000 in 2023.

That is a long way from the "tens of thousands" the Conservatives pledged under David Cameron (a couple of years after net migration to the UK had hit 237,000 in 2007 just before the global financial crisis). The failure to meet that target is perhaps one of the reasons politicians are very reluctant to make them now.

Labour haven't put a number on it today. They have said net migration will fall - and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC they wanted to cut levels significantly. But net migration is already projected to fall. The Office for Budget Responsibility - for example - has done various calculations about what could happen in the next few years. They all suggest a fall in numbers.

It's partly because of tougher rules brought in by the government recently - in response to concern about the high levels of net migration. Experts at the Oxford Migration Observatory have pointed to some evidence a bigger fall in net migration could happen in 2024.

Politics is important here. Labour wants to send a message that it wants to limit immigration, but context can be helpful too when analysing pledges.

Image source, PA Media

A bit more from the campaign trail now. After speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg this morning, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper headed to south London with her colleague Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary,

They met engineering apprentices at SNG, the gas distribution company.

Speaking to reporters, Cooper said "engineering apprenticeships have "halved at the same time as visas have doubled" - adding this "shows you've got a system that's broken".

On Saturday, Phillipson said the Labour Party will allow businesses to use up to 50% of government-provided cash to fund apprenticeships or training for staff, if elected.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged to fund 100,000 apprenticeships per year, funded by scrapping what they call "rip-off" university courses.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

For most, Sunday is a day to recharge the batteries before another week of work begins.

During an election campaign, though, it's safe to say that's not the case for candidates out on the campaign trail.

It's been a busy day - with that bit of breaking news about Diane Abbott in the last hour, the SNP launching its campaign in Glasgow this afternoon, and fresh policy promises this morning from Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems.

We've also seen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak out leafleting in London and heard Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay say his party is hopeful it can win four seats - Bristol Central, Waveney Valley, North Herefordshire and Brighton Pavilion.

No doubt there'll be even more happening tomorrow, but thanks for staying with us so far.

Our live coverage is going to pause soon - before then, we'll bring you a few more moments from today.

You may have just seen that Diane Abbott has announced her intention to stand as a Labour candidate at the next election (if not, it's in the post below).

Here's a reminder of how we got to this point:

• Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, was suspended by Labour in April 2023 after saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives"
• After apologising and withdrawing her remarks, Labour launched an investigation
• Party leader Sir Keir Starmer had said the investigation into her comments was not "resolved" - but BBC Newsnight reported on Tuesday that it was completed in December 2023. Hours later, it was revealed that Abbott's suspension had been lifted
• She subsequently texted a BBC reporter, saying the whip had been restored but Labour had barred her from standing for the party at the general election
• In the days that followed, Starmer said "no final decision" had yet been taken, leaving many confused. Abbott later told a rally in her constituency that she would be their representative "for as long as it is possible"
• On Friday, Starmer said Abbott was "free to go forward as a Labour candidate" - and we've now seen her appear to confirm that's what will happen

Image source, Reuters

Here's a bit more on that breaking news we just brought you.

Diane Abbott, who's been embroiled in a public row with the Labour leadership this week, has taken to X to say she is the "adopted Labour candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington" - a seat she's held since 1987.

"I intend to run and to win as Labour's candidate," she adds in a post on X, describing reports that some left-wingers have been offered peerages to stand down as "factually incorrect".

It comes after party leader Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday that Abbott was "free to go forward as a Labour candidate", ending days of speculation about the veteran left-winger's future.

Abbott, the first female black MP, had claimed before then that she was banned from standing for Labour at the general election on 4 July - despite having the whip restored following an investigation into comments she made in a newspaper last year.

A full list of candidates in Hackney North & Stoke Newington will be available on the BBC News website after nominations close on Friday.

Veteran left-winger Diane Abbott says she intends to "run and win as Labour's candidate" for Hackney North & Stoke Newington at the election.

It follows a row over her political future after she was suspended from the party in 2023 following comments she made about racism, and then had the whip restored.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

Georgia Roberts
Scotland political correspondent

The final bit of reaction we're seeing to John Swinney's speech this afternoon at the SNP's election campaign launch is in - and it comes from the Scottish Lib Dems.

At the launch, Swinney made the case for Scottish independence and appealed to voters not to be “distracted” from the cause by other parties. The Scottish Conservatives also feature independence heavily in their campaign, painting the SNP as “independence-obsessed” and unable to focus on the day job of governing.

But unlike elections gone by, not all the leaders are convinced the constitutional question is one that should feature so heavily in this one. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is campaigning today - with a focus on a "more positive and optimistic campaign", and tells me independence isn’t a priority for people.

"They want to hear about who’s going to be best for access to GPs, lifting our education standards and getting NHS dentists," he says.

"People don’t care about independence. They’ve moved on, and my goodness that’s a good thing because it’s stifled our debate for too long."

Swinney's speech earlier - of which there's a recap here - went after both the Tories and Labour, with the Scottish FM suggesting it's hard to tell which party's which.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has since reacted, questioning why the SNP "used its relaunch to attack Labour". He said his party is more focused on "working to boot out this rotten Tory government".

"With a Labour government, we have a chance to end 14 years of Tory chaos and failure - an opportunity Scotland cannot afford to miss," he said on X.

Sarwar didn't specifically respond to Swinney's criticisms of Labour.

Image source, PA Media